OffBeat Topic: 'Old' is Gold!

Hey Readers,
Welcome back to the new OffBeat Topic...as I get closer to finishing my first draft, one cannot ignore the 'dry spell' that has affected Bollywood! Why is it so quiet? Why is there no talk? Why is there just silence pervading the websites? Believe it or not...but even my Bollywood obsession is deteriorating!
OK...Let's start this topic with a tribute to Mr Amitabh Bachchan. I am not an admirer of Mr Bachchan's private life for obvious reasons but I cannot deny that this guy can act. This guy is a superstar. He is still the King of Bollywood! We all cannot ignore how hardworking he is. Despite being in his mid-60s he is working for his fans. Trust me, the guy still has fans! Currently on a world concert tour...I am completely pleased with his dedication and love for his fans.
Now onto another person. I constantly hear this from people: 'He is old...He should retire...He should get botox...He has wrinkles...He cannot act...He hams his way through films...' I think you can guess who he is? Mr Shah Rukh Khan. Now...we all know SRK is the current King of Bollywood. However...if we can remember a line from the title song from his film 'Baadshah' it says: 'Main Baadshah hoon ka Baadshah' which translates as 'I'm the King of Kings.' How right is that statement now! He has succeeded Mr Bachchan in terms of Super stardom and Box-Office success. I do not know whether his success is because he is the most interesting star Bollywood has or it is his drive to be successful. Whatever he seems to touch turns into gold somehow.The next one is Mr Aamir Khan. The King of Controversies and critical acclaim. No one can deny that this guy produces superb acting performances in most of his films. He has worked hard for so many years, making movies that we can all remember. Also with his 'Taare Zameen Par' being India's official entry to the Oscars, this guy deserves the credit that he gets. If there is anybody second to SRK...it is Mr Aamir Khan.

Now...at the moment...why is there such silence in Bollywood? OK...let's see it this view. Akshay Kumar is the 'Kinng' of Bollywood now...that is what is going around in some parts of the media. Let's face it, this guy is boring. He has made Bollywood become a bore. No matter where you go, either he tries to bring SRK into something (Fairness Cream) or Salman will try and bring SRK into something (Anything that will make his show a hit)...people won't stop talking about SRK. I do wonder why that is happening especially if SRK is not the 'King' anymore? Let's face it, Bollywood is SRK, without him it is boring.

The media have become so desperate for SRK to come back...that on several websites they are now saying the 'Baadshah is Back' the fact is that the King is still SRK. This 'old' man is still the King of Bollywood. This 'actor who hams' is the best thing that has happened to Bollywood since the days of young Big B! Let's just admit it, when SRK speaks, the whole of Bollywood starts gaining life again. Life shines through Bollywood when SRK says one thing. When it comes to success at the Box-office then he cannot be touched! Sometimes I wish I could write something different in these OffBeat topic but SRK cannot be ignored. I have tried not write about him but he is Bollywood.

All I am going to conclude in this is that...once SRK comes back with Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi on December 11th/12th...the people that claimed Akki is King will change their statements. The media that accepted Akki as the King will suddenly start loving SRK and won't stop shouting that SRK is the King. The people that said SRK's days were numbered will find that SRK has years left in him. The people that said SRK should retire will say SRK should avoid retirement in his life. When SRK speaks through his work, the whole of Bollywood will bow down to the one and only King of Kings...Mr Shah Rukh Khan!

Thanks for reading! Take care and lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

Decisions leads to consequences! Part Two-Writer's perspective.

Hello Readers,
I hope all is well with you! It feels so good to be back on the blog...I hope you all enjoyed the personal view on 'Decisions leads to consequences.' Before I get into that, I hope that the SRK fans are all happy since the Badshaah of Bollywood is back in the media and is also at his humour best! It is good to see him smiling despite all the recent problems he has had. So that reminds me...yes the next OffBeat Fun topic is dedicated to the recent controversies that have plagued Bollywood. How ironic is it that all the interesting ones...all have SRK involved?!

Today's topic is about the writer's perspective on 'Decisions leads to consequences.' I will discuss how this one line has an effect on my novel 'Love is Complicated'. While writing this story, there has been many of times when I have sat there thinking, if this happens then this will be affected, if that happens then that will be affected. As I mentioned before this particular story...the characters drive the plot. I do not have a plot, I know what I want at the end of a chapter or at the end of the story but I allow the characters to take it there.

There are certain instances which I can discuss on here as it is in the preview. First one is Rahul's decision to sacrifice. While I wrote that particular decision, I thought about the effects it would have on the whole story. I thought about whether Rahul would be able to keep it up? Would Rahul eventually give up on his true love? Is Naina his true love IF they end up not being together? If they do not get together, then how do I explain that? If they do get together, how do I explain that? These are some of the thoughts that I went through while I wrote about the decision of Rahul's sacrifice.

The other one that is rather hidden in the story but is obvious when you look in the lines. Naina has a lot of feelings hidden inside of her. I know my readers get shocked when I say the strongest character is Naina but there is a reason behind it. In the preview, we can see how much her body, mind and heart is into Rahul. We can feel there is a lot of chemistry between the two yet the one question that is in my mind and yours...WHY are they not together? Why does Naina choose Nikhil over Rahul? The fact is Naina is a girl that is confused about her feelings for Rahul but she becomes a woman that knows what she wants! However, does it become too late for her?

As a writer, I thought about what is the best way to end a sacrifice. At first, I wrote the end of the story and thought that I was content with it. However, suddenly I felt the sacrifice was still incomplete...so I thought maybe I could have a sequel? Or I could end it? End it with what though? Only one answer kept coming to my mind...only one solution...only one possibility and that was Death. The only thing that can end a sacrifice is Death!

As I thought about it, who do I kill off? Do I kill Nikhil...leaving the door open for Naina and Rahul to get together? Do I kill Naina... and end all the relationships that are possible, Nikhil and Naina's relationship ends and the possibility of Rahul and Naina getting together ends too? Or do I kill Rahul, which ends the prospect of him and Naina getting together? Whichever character I kill off, the sacrifice will be justified.

Back to the question, do I have a plan for a sequel or do I end the story with a death? I have already made that decision. I guess you all need to wait till it is published to find out what I have decided!
Thanks for reading and I am looking forward to writing to you all again!

Take care and lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

Decisions leads to consequences! Part One-Personal!

Hello readers,
What a few days it has been! I have set out so many decisions, yet there is still a great amount to do. At the moment, I am suffering...there are no Bollywood movies playing in my local cinema! Or it might be that I am awaiting for SRK's Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi and Aamir Khan's Ghajini. Oh well, I guess I will watch the Dark Knight at the IMAX cinema in Waterloo soon! Although, I am not a fan of Hollywood movies but as my friends now...if people think I am 'obsessed' with SRK movies, I am equally 'obsessed' about the Dark Knight...OK...OK...just the parts with the Joker in there! What an amazing performance by Heath Ledger! Anyway, I hope and pray that everyone has been good since I last wrote on here!

My readers this is part one of 'Decisions lead to consequences' as this is the personal one...part 2 will be one related to my novel. I am giving up on some things in my life that directly affect a great amount of people or even my fans. The things I seem to enjoy, hold too many memories and it is best that I give it up! Don't worry, I am not giving up creative writing or my blog. I have given up on going on MSN Messenger. I have been using MSN Messenger since I was 16...so 5 years later...I am giving it up. I use it regularly religiously but due to some (personal and proffessional) decisions that I have had to make I do not want to go on there!

People may find this a shock...as I do have a never-say-die spirit towards every aspect of life. However, sometimes you need to make sacrifices...you need to give up whatever you had faith in to make other people's lives much easier. Obviously, it depends if other people see how much love you have for them, if people know they love you, they will appreciate every decision you make. They may not agree with it, my best friends do not agree with me giving up MSN Messenger but I know they accept and appreciate my decision, hence they are my best friends.

Giving up is not easy. It actually does not help any situation but it does do one thing...reconnecting yourself together. Going back to my decision...I had two choices. One was to try and get what I wanted back or it was to simply give up. Now...I gave up...Why? Why did I give up? Was there a need for me to give up? Yes because it made someone else's life easier. What more happiness can that bring...if someone can live their life much easier, with more freedom of thought, more happier. However, each decision has a consequence. My decision to give up on what I wanted back...had a few consequences.

Those consequences were simple...I give up anything that reminded me of what I wanted back. MSN Messenger...I gave it up! After Love is Complicated...I will not write another full-on romantic novel until I get over my memories. I am still a romantic though! The good news is that you will see me writing on the blog a lot more than before!

I give a lot of things thought. Ever decision I make...there is a consequence. In fact...every decision you make there is consequences attached to it. The fact is...do we ignore the consequences or do we carry them out? I have decided now to practice my consequences but let me just remind you...yes, other people may get hurt by it. There is one important issue, is not many will realise how much it hurts you to practice them or even to give-up on something you love more than, possibly, your own life.

This is the end of the post now my readers! Thank you so much for reading and do not forget...I am still very devoted to this and I will still reply back to everyone's comments on this! If you haven't, please do vote on whether you want me to write the Infidelity story or the Supervillain story!

Lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

Infidelity and Supervillain...which one?

Hi readers,
I would like to thank everyone who has sent me their birthday wishes in whatever form they did. Whether its the Blog, text messages, MSN, Facebook, phone calls or celebrating it with me personally. It is really appreciated and I do feel very loved whenever I think about it.

Today on the blog, it is simple and it is all about the next two projects that I talked about in my last post. This time I give you a much better view into the story of the two projects then you can vote just like you did before. It does not matter if your opinion changes! Here are the mini-introductions to the story.

Infidelity in marriages.
Rahul and Naina watch their relationship begin to crumble. What do they do? Do they end the marriage or work on their problems? They work things out between themselves and inspire each other to go and help other couples fight for their marriages.
This brings in the three couples that are fighting for their marriages. All three couples have a different scenario but one common problem...Infidelity. All three marriages have somehow been involved with cheating on their married partner.
The marriage counselling sessions start and the story unfolds each characters insecurities, Rahul does not sympathise with the couples as much as you would expect while Naina tries to sympathise with them. However, both Rahul and Naina have one aim and that is the marriages stay together and not divorce.
Which couples end up going through divorce and which ones stay together?

Supervillain story.
We have all read and watched Superhero stories but now comes the Supervillain story. I promise to re-define evil with this story! Set in the dark underworld of London comes to the story of Sameer. He grows up to be one of the biggest underworld don but still leads a normal life. He juggles with one life at home and another in his office. This story shows how his early life leads him to live two different lives in one world. As his empire grows bigger and bigger, he finds out a secret. This secret destroys his normal life. As he becomes one with his underworld life, he has another problem, it's a school friend, Abhay.
Abhay works for the MI5 and he is out to get Sameer. However, Abhay soon realises that to catch or even kill Sameer, he has to sacrifice his own life as an agent of the MI5! Abhay realises that Sameer is not just any criminal. He is the darkest criminal that the world has ever seen. Will Abhay succeed in his task to defeat Sameer or will Sameer's evil mind manipulate Abhay to follow him?

Here you go my readers! Comment on what you would like me to write and do not forget to vote! Thank you for reading! I wish you all the best till next time!
Take care and lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

Appreciation and plans for the future!

Hi readers,

On the eve of my 21st birthday, I am back to write to you all again after a week. I am sorry that I have not wrote anything earlier but I have been so busy and had to deal with a tragedy within my family that I have been occupied. But more on the positive side I have realised that love can remove all obstacles. My friends organised a surprise birthday cake for my 21st birthday on Sunday and I am really humbled by their love and I really appreciate it. They helped me overcome my pain by bringing constant smiles on my face and making me laugh so much. I am so proud of all of them. I love them so much and I want them to know that I will continue to love them till the day I die.

Lately, I noticed a change in me. I have become a recluse but that is because I have been busy with my work. However, I have been more open with those that have made an effort to understand me or keep in contact with me. I am sure my friends will realise this and not take it personally! This week I have been smiling and happy and it is due to some people who are really close to my heart, to the love I have been receiving and the support I have been receiving from my readers. So thank you all for that!

It is also great to know that I have someone who always reads my blog religiously every day and it is humbling to know that. I do know this person personally and to be honest, I know and that person knows how much that means to me. I do even remember saying once that even if I have just one reader on my blog, I will write it for that one person. I value each reader beyond any limit. So thank you to that one person and to all of you that read it. Each reader means the world to me as my future does lie within your hands.

Now, I must apologise to everyone but my first draft is still not completely edited. So the five lucky readers, will have to wait even longer. Unfortunately, due to personal circumstances, I have not been able to give time to the novel but I do promise you that at least by the end of the month it will be completed for you. You will receive e-mails from me, so do not worry. You are always on my mind.

It has come to the time when I should decide on my next project. I have two that are planned and I would like to just tell you the type of story it is and then you can tell me what you would like to read by voting.
The first one is a story on Infidelity in marriages. Infidelity as we know it, is about our love partners cheating on you with another person. Now, this story is about 3 married couples who go to marriage counselling sessions ran by a couple named Rahul and Naina. With this I keep with the genre of love and romance.
The other one is a super-villain story. It is about an underworld Don who grows to be one of the most powerful men in the world but looks like a normal guy. It shows how his childhood affects his mentality. But the main thing is that the hero that is after the villain has to sacrifice a lot to fight this villain. This falls in the genre of action. As there will be fighting, sex, love, good vs evil etc.
Both stories are very commercial and as I said before my writing is only meant to entertain and not to be known as a literary piece of work. So the choice is yours...which one would you want me to write next?

This is the end of this post and thanks for reading! Please remember to vote and I love you all very much! The voting box is on the top right hand side of the blog!

Take care and lots of love,
Rahul N. Singh

To be Loved or not to be Loved?

Welcome back readers. This month of September is very special to me and I guess some of you know why. I was born on this month and it also means a new start to my year. However, my birthday is on the 10th. Although this year I hit my 21st, I have not felt anything different. I do not feel excited or anything and this scares me because I love celebrating my birthday. This year I want to be on my own. Today's post is more about me and how I feel and this does affect the writing that I produce.

My title does say a lot. To be loved or not to be loved? I ask myself this question all the time. I have this hidden passion to be loved by everyone. Whoever has a place in my heart, I want to be loved by them. I love unconditional love. I believe only in this type of love. This deep-rooted wanting to be loved is something I have desired since childhood. My family have showered me with love, my friends have or did, anybody I came across, I felt their love. For me, this love has become an addiction. I feel lonely without it.

Pain is a feeling that is associated with love. You feel pain when someone you love dies or leaves your life, pain when someone you love treats you badly or betrays you. However, the first type of pain, losing someone due to the hands of death, this is something that is inevitable, it cannot be stopped. You have to treat this pain as something that has to happen. However, the second is something that people do on their own accord, they love to see you in pain. For them pain is intoxicating but they forget the power of love. Love can defeat this intoxicating pain within seconds.

As I have felt and experienced pain, it has only created an even bigger need to be loved. So this love that I feel and want is something that is only for me. I fear not knowing what love feels like. I fear that everyone that loves me stops loving me, the thought does scare me. I have only truly loved one girl. After giving her my heart and then splitting up for whatever reason, I cannot give my heart to any other girl. It is a fact now, I cannot love another girl the way I loved the girl I love. I cannot look at other girls with the eyes I looked at her with. My love for women will now always remain just a genuine feeling of love.

So as I approach 21, I wonder now what is my passion and what are my aims in life? My passion and aims are both the same and that is to love everybody the way I want to be loved. I want to show through my writing on the blog or through a few novels, the love that I want to feel, that I need and that love I want. If you call me 'greedy' or 'needy' for wanting to be loved, then so be it. I will happily accept being called greedy and needy. I want this love to last me a lifetime. The fact is for me materialistic things matter to an extent in terms of standard of living. I do want to lose my character, my need to be loved and to give love to be affected my materialistic aspects of life.

I have realised that life is too short for grudges, to be angry at people. What is the point in being annoyed with certain people? What will we personally achieve? Why do we find it so hard to forgive and forget our friends? I am someone who tests each and every friend of mine, especially their promises. I will go to whatever extent it takes to see whether that person really means what they say. It is not that I do not trust their promise, I just want to see how much can they take of me. So far, everyone I have tested has failed but that has not stopped me from loving them. It has made me love them more. It does hurt when some people say I don't know who I am or that I am not a stable-minded guy, however I know exactly what I am doing all the time. I know what I am saying and I am completely aware.

We always let go off things we love, I do wonder at times why we do this? Why do we stop giving chances for love to be accepted in our hearts? Today, we live in an age of people who give-up so easily. I am fortunate that I have a 'never-say-die' spirit. I will never let anyone go, or let anything escape from my life. If I truly love someone or something, they can never leave my heart because their mark has been made and will always be present. We have to take risks, we have to take chances. One chance or risk could made your unhappy, unloved life into a happy and loving life. It is up to us if we take the chance. I never want to let anything go and that is the final line.

As I conclude this post, so answering my question 'To be loved or not to be loved?' The thing is in order to know how it is like to be loved, we need to know what it is like to not be loved. So therefore we know the true meaning of being loved. It is simple, I want to be loved and I want to give other people the love they give me. Rahul N. Singh the person may be limited with his love, he may look at certain people and treat them differently for the bad things they have done to him. However, Rahul N. Singh the writer will love everyone unconditionally, no matter what and to be honest I rather be the latter. I rather be known for someone that loves others no matter what they have done to me than someone who conditions his love for others. The fact of the matter is I have chosen my identity, whether people hate it or not! I love myself therefore I can love others just as much.

Thanks for reading, hopefully you did enjoy it! Looking forward to writing my next post.
Rahul N. Singh